Engineering Properties of Bolts and Nuts in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

In steel construction, the importance of connection cannot be overemphasized. Steel connection can be made of bolts, rivets and welding. The quality of bolts, rivets and welds in structural steel connection affects the connection and hence the capacity of the whole steel structure. This paper examined the quality of bolts and nuts available in the Nigeria market. Samples of bolts of diameters 10mm, 12mm, 16mm and 20mm were sourced from five providers in Lagos State. After testing the samples for both tensile and shear strengths, it was established that only 10mm and 12mm diameter bolts meet the
grade 4.6 requirements of 195N/mm2 and 160N/mm2 for tensile and shear strengths respectively. For 20mm diameter bolts, only specimens from providers B, C and D meet the code requirements for both tensile and shear strengths for grade 4.6 bolts.

Keywords: Shear, Bearing y, Tensile, Capacity, Connections, Bolts, Rivets, Welds.

African Research Review Vol. 2 (4) 2008: pp. 173-185